About Online Parent Guidance
An online alternative RIE class for parents
For parents in areas without in-person classes or those who prefer to learn about RIE without their child present, Online Parent Guidance Classes explore topics of raising infants and toddlers and RIE’s respectful approach in a weekly group format facilitated by a RIE Associate.
Online Parent Guidance Class affinity groups are also available. See below for more information.
Cost: $190/month.
Prices may vary.
For more information email classinfo@rie.org
Who is this Class for?
This class is designed as an alternative for parents who can’t attend our in-person Parent-Infant Guidance Classes. If you want to explore and apply RIE’s respectful, relationship-based approach to raising your infant or toddler in a weekly, RIE Associate-led, small group of parents, this class is for you. It will help you establish a secure foundation that your baby and you can grow on.
We also offer RIE Online Parent Guidance Class affinity groups for those interested in learning about the RIE approach in a group with a shared lived experience and led by a facilitator from that community. Our current offerings are:
- RIE Online Parent Guidance Class for Queer and Trans Caregivers (Starting in September 2023!)
- From Kris Ring, the facilitator: This class is for caregivers who identify as queer and/or trans, however that may be titled for you (teachers, nannies, part-time to full-time parents, chosen family, foster parents, etc.). In this group we will explore respectful parenting practices through the RIE lens in supportive community together. Caregivers will learn in their own way and time with a grounding rhythm and space for personal exploration. If you are new to respectful caregiving practices, you are welcome here. To reach Kris, please email radicalrespectparenting@gmail.com. To register for the class, select “view classes” above.
- RIE Online Parent Guidance Class for Black Caregivers (Starting in November 2023!)
- From Jessica Ballenger, the facilitator: These classes are meant to serve those parents/caregivers within the African diaspora. Are you someone who has or takes care of children? Are you interested in bringing up a child who’s confident, competent, and capable? One who becomes an adult whose success is defined by the relationships they foster? Then this class is for you. This group is a space where those involved can open up and explore common themes, ask questions and adopt an alternative way of parenting. One that’s gentle and respectful and filled with introspection and reflection through the lens of RIE. To reach Jessica, please email jballenger02@gmail.com. To register for the class, select “view classes” above.
Learning Objectives.
This class aims to guide parents towards seeing infants as competent and capable of being responsive, exploratory, and authentic from an early age. This class provides parents with an opportunity for ongoing reflection and guidance so they become more knowledgeable and better prepared to meet the demands of raising a young child. With the RIE approach the experience becomes easier and more rewarding.
Facilitated by a certified RIE Associate, these small, supportive online classes include dialogue and content, such as videos and article discussions, related to applying RIE concepts in your home. Discussions cover a variety of topics relevant to the children’s evolving stage of development, including:
- Creating an infant- or toddler-oriented environment
- Establishing healthy sleep habits
- Responding to crying
- Supporting motor skills
- Transforming caregiving activities, such as diapering, into quality time
- Supporting self-directed play
- Peer and sibling interactions
“It is easy to give advice, but if good advice would work, we would all be perfect. I do not expect you or any other parent to be superhuman. I just hope that the RIE principles will slowly become part of your awareness, your thinking, and your actions, and eventually, when they truly become part of you, they will serve you as your own inner guidelines. Those inner guidelines can gently remind you whenever you slip to “try again,” which means to use a little more patience, empathy, and sensitivity next time.”
Available Classes
Classes are offered on a variety of days and in various time zones and according to your child’s age.
Testimonials
Read what parents have to say about how RIE Online Parent Guidance helps them care for their child from infancy to 4 years old.
FAQs about this Class
No. This class is for parents to enjoy group discussion and explore topics of infant-toddler development and parenting with the support of a RIE Associate. Baby may be laying nearby or napping or in the care of another, while parents have the freedom to share their successes and challenges.
The curriculum blends instruction on RIE topics with emerging issues faced by parents in their homes. There is time for videos of home observation and thoughtful reflection.
Class registration is on a monthly basis. You can dis-enroll after one month, although we encourage parents to engage for a full 8 weeks in order to incorporate what they are learning into their home life. The group can stay together until the youngest child is two.
